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Ink Knows No Borders: Poems of the Immigrant and Refugee Experience by Alyssa Raymond, JoAnn Balingit, Javier Zamora, Emtithal Mahmoud, Patrice Vecchione
4.0

I finished this book a while ago, but I wanted to sit with it, really think about it, before writing my review. This is a collection of stunning poems, ones that will break your heart and remind you of the humanity each one of us owns. I bookmarked the copy I borrowed from the library with more post-it notes than I normally do, because I wanted to make sure I followed up on the work of the poets I liked best. "Immigrant" by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, "My Grandmother Washes Her Feet in the Sink of the Bathroom at Sears" by Mohja Kahf, "Pronounced" by Carlos Andres Gomez, and "Off-Island Chamorros" by Craig Santos Perez struck me as particular favorites, both because of what they illuminated about their particular experience, but also where I as a non-immigrant white person might fail. Really worth thinking about for a while.